‘Maybe as popular as cricket’: Pune’s 2032 Worlds chief sets out India’s cycling ambitions

Jitendra Dudi, the official behind Pune’s bid for the 2032 Road World Championships, believes cycling could one day be as popular in India as cricket. Dudi is Pune’s District Collector, the top official in the district’s administration, and he told Wielerflits that the Worlds would only be the start of the city’s plans for the sport.

The UCI gave Pune the 2032 Worlds at its congress in Montréal on 23 September, ahead of a rival bid from Groningen and Drenthe. The Dutch provinces were given the 2034 edition instead, and Pune’s climate means the championships could be held in mid-October, later than the usual September slot.

“With the support of the UCI, I’m sure cycling will become hugely popular. In the future, maybe even as popular as cricket,” he told Wielerflits.

Dudi said the Cycling Federation of India is working to produce riders who can race at the top level before 2032. At the inaugural Pune Grand Tour in January, the best Indian rider was Harshveer Singh Sekhon, who won the blue jersey for the highest-placed Indian.

“Hopefully, by the time the Worlds come to Pune, we will already have some riders from our country competing at the highest level in their category. That would be our biggest success for cycling,” he said.

Planning for the Pune Grand Tour began in June 2025. The first edition, a 2.2 race, brought 171 riders from 35 countries to the district and was won by New Zealand’s Luke Mudgway. Organisers estimated that 2.5 million people watched from the roadside, and the race has since been upgraded to 2.1 status, with six stages for 2027.

Dudi said those crowds are why he expects record numbers in 2032. More than 1.4 billion people live in India, and the races will be broadcast across the country.

“I’m convinced that when the championships come to India, it will be the biggest Worlds in the history of cycling, both in the number of people watching live at the roadside and the fans following the races on television,” he said.

He said the idea of bidding came from the UCI itself, soon after the first Pune Grand Tour.

“After the first edition of the Pune Grand Tour, we got a very good proposal from the UCI: ‘You should bid for the 2032 Worlds, and if your bid is good, maybe we’ll give it to you,’” he said.

Pune will be the fourth Asian city to host the Road Worlds, after Utsunomiya in 1990, Doha in 2016 and Abu Dhabi, which stages the 2028 edition. Dudi wants the city’s place in the sport to last well beyond its turn.

“The 2032 Worlds are only the beginning of the legacy we want to create in Pune. Our goal is very big. We want to build something as big as the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia or the Vuelta a España. A new Grand Tour is what we want to achieve,” he said.

He believes the effect will reach beyond racing, into how people get around the city.

“When cycling comes back to India every year with the Pune Grand Tour and with the Worlds in 2032, a culture will develop where people use the bike more and more. I’m convinced people will start asking for a full network of cycle paths so they can ride from one part of the city to another,” he said.